# Samichlaus



## JGD (Mar 2, 2009)

I bought a four pack of this beer last night to bring to my wife's parents house. My brother-in-law, father-in-law, and I each had one tonight. I can't decided if love this beer or if I hate it. I know that may sound weird, but it was a strange beer. The first sip was surprisingly sweet, and I really enjoyed the first half. The second half on the other hand, I wasn't too fond of. The last sip was was especially harsh.

What do you guys think about this beer?

For those who haven't heard of this before, here is what is written about it on Wikipedia:

History

Beer has been brewed at Eggenberg Castle (German: Schloss Eggenberg) since the 14th century. Commercial brewing at its location began in 1681 when Michael Weismann purchased the property from the Monastery of Kremsmünster. It has been owned by the Forstinger-Stöhr family since 1803.

Samichlaus beermat

Samichlaus is one of the strongest lager beers in the world [1], at 14% alcohol by volume, and the best known of all European Christmas beers.[citation needed] The name means Santa Claus in Swiss German. It was originally brewed by the Hürlimann Brewery in Zürich, Switzerland.
Hürlimann's founder Albert Hürlimann was a world leader in the scientific study of yeast, and the brewery has a long history of yeast development. The Samichlaus Christmas beer was first brewed in 1979 for sale in 1980. Production continued annually until 1997, when the brewery closed. In 2000, it returned,[2] this time produced by Schloss Eggenberg in collaboration with the original Hürlimann brewers, using the original Hürlimann Samichlaus recipe. The beer is only brewed once a year, on December 6 (which is the day of Saint Nicholas), which makes it a relatively rare brew. It is in the style of a Bavarian Doppelbock, and undergoes unusually long fermentation by traditional cold lagering over a ten month period, leaving very little residual sugar in the final beer.

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I would suggest giving this one a try, as it is truly interesting. However, this is not an inexpensive beer. A 4-pack goes for between $18 and $20. The price is what may be stopping me from buying more. Though, I am interested in aging this beer a bit. The label on the bottle suggests that you can age it for multiple years.


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## smokin nightly (Sep 9, 2009)

Thanks for the info on this...Ive never heard of Samichlaus, but will look for it now that is for sure...


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## fiddlegrin (Feb 8, 2009)

Ya know what Santa likes with his Samichlaus ?

*Sami-chezzz!* :drum: preferably..... ham n swiss!! 

Thanks for the "heads up" Jim!!


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